Nike is reportedly signed a 10-year, $1 billion deal to outfit Manchester United , the storied English soccer club considered the most valuable franchise in the world. That’s billion with a “B.” Given Manchester’s market capitalization, this would represent almost 40 percent of the club’s value.
For Nike, the $100 million-per-year sum represents about triple the amount it now pays to have its swoosh on Wayne Rooney and the rest of the club’s Red Devils. The sponsorship agreement
would roughly double the richest uniform relationship,Adidas’s agreement to outfit Real Madrid in the Spanish league. General Motors , meanwhile, is paying about $79 million per year to have its Chevrolet logo on Manchester jerseys.
Nike’s sports empire is as adept at building a brand as it is at piecing together high-tech sports apparel. Like Manchester United and the New York Yankees, Nike typically buys the best players on the open market, not the best it can afford or those that might be undervalued. In comparison, Under Armour’s (UA) first foray into British soccer was to kit out Tottenham Hotspur, a resurgent team that hasn’t cracked the English Premier League’s top three slots since the Baltimore brand signed up in 2011.